KU notes: Porter knows speed

He and speed have grown up together in San Francisco. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds.

"Pretty fast, I guess," he said.

But the newest Kansas running back found out something unusual during the training camp KU just finished.

He needs to be faster to play Division I football.

"The speed's a little faster," he said. "But I'm getting used to it. It's making up your mind quicker. Everyone is just as fast as you, so you have to be on your top game."

Porter, according to Kansas coach Mark Mangino, won't have as much trouble adjusting to the Big 12 level as some other junior college transfers.

Porter played in an offense similar to Kansas' at the College of San Mateo (Calif.), which is where he was hanging out pretty much right up until he turned up at Kansas' training camp. He was sitting around with a scholarship offer from SMU and nothing else.

Until one day KU assistant John Reagan called.

"Kansas called me up and they offered," Porter said. "So I had to take it."

Suddenly he's in the middle of a three- or four-way competition to be KU's No. 2 running back behind Jake Sharp.

"Daniel's coming along," Mangino said. "He's on a crash course, he and Toben (Opurum). Speaking of running backs, Rell Lewis has had a nice camp. We keep Rell healthy, he'll help us."

Freshman surprise

Wide receiver Bradley McDougald is the best freshman receiver Mangino has seen at KU. Really.

"I have not had a true freshman come in and do what he can do since I've been here," Mangino said.

McDougald is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound Dublin, Ohio, native. Perhaps most surprisingly, he played running back and defensive back for three of his seasons at Scioto High School.

"He will play, he'll be in the mix, he'll be on the field, both at the line of scrimmage and in the field," Mangino said .

Jones not a Jayhawk

Linebacker Julian Jones, who committed to Kansas last fall, did not report to training camp and will not play at Kansas, Mangino said.

"We talked to him and he wanted to just go to a college close to home," Mangino said. "I think he made a good decision."

Meier still at QB

It was a nice thought, but Kerry Meier is not going to move to wide receiver 100 percent after all.

"After looking at it in training camp, I'm not sure we'll completely divorce him from that position, but his reps are extremely limited," Mangino said. "I just want to keep him there in case the worst-case scenario would come about. His work is 90 percent wide receiver."

Thornton back at safety

Cornerback Justin Thornton is working at safety, now, after spending last season as a cornerback.

"He's kind of directs the traffic," Mangino said. "He's an old hand back there."

Tully Corcoran can be reached at (785) 295-5652 and tully.corcoran@cjonline.com.